Stream it or Skip It: April
A few notables, one skip
Well, we’re into the month of April and that means some nicer weather and less TV watching for most of us. All hope is not lost though because April also means rain and some of the colder weather making cameo appearances. When it does, just watch something…
Stream It (Now)
Last Tango in Halifax on Netflix. I mentioned in my last post, my affection for Last Tango in Halifax and that has stayed steady. It seems to get better and better. I love the acting of just about everyone in the cast, but it’s the noteworthy performances by the two 40-something-year-old daughters, Gillian (Nicola Walker) and Caroline (Sarah Lancashire) that steals the show for me in season 2.
Lancashire, who also starred in Happy Valley, is breathtaking in her portrayal of the brilliant, yet emotionally stunted Caroline, and the chemistry between her and Walker’s Gillian really makes the show. I’m happy that the writers pivoted to focus more on the friendship of these two and their character development in season 2 because it serves the show and its supporting cast really well. We also get to know the many layers and dimensions of Celia, Caroline’s mother. She’s not just the love of Alan’s life. She is at times polarizing, mostly warm to those she loves, and she doesn’t hold back.
Country of Origin: U.K.
The Irregulars on Netflix. One episode in and we’re goners - the hubby, kids and I. It’s a big scary, gory, fun, and comical all at once. If you like mysteries and horror and have a child at home who may be missing Enola Holmes (outing my daughter), this brand of hyper intelligent, street-smart, orphan, scrappy misfit teens including one “disturbed” but it turns out “gifted” gal who can “see” things no human should be able to see (let’s just say, dark things), and “oh yeah, they help Sherlock Holmes solve crimes,” then watch this. We don’t entirely know where it’s going. Ok, maybe my husband does because he’s good at figuring out these things, but I have a feeling we’ll enjoy the ride.
Country of Origin: U.K.
Losing Alice on Apple TV. I’m a little shocked at myself for recommending this twisted, psychologically messy and disturbing tale of a husband (who plays an actor) and wife (director) that find themselves in a tangled web of manipulation at the hands of a brilliant, young ingenue screenwriter. But is she really holding the strings? It feels like Fatal Attraction but doesn’t quite go in that direction. Still, it’s pretty messed up. Definitely not for kids, but if you can hold out for a really decent ending even it means slugging thru a lot of “bleh bleh bleh”, you should watch.
Country of Origin: Israel
Condor on Epix. Max Irons (Jeremy Irons’ son) plays a CIA analyst who is on the run after being falsely accused of murdering his co-workers. Turns out that’s just the tip of the iceberg. This show feels like a Grisham/Coben/Clancy novel rolled into one and the high-stakes/high-speed pace means you can watch it at 10 PM on a Sunday and not fall asleep which is a huge bonus in my household.
Country of Origin: I feel like it’s US. It’s an international cast and Irons is half Irish and half British but it takes place in DC so let’s call it American.
Looking forward to but haven’t yet seen:
Netflix:
I haven’t ever seen Legally Blonde, but I might watch this movie with my daughter…
Thunder Force with Melissa McCarthy and Octavia Spencer (Description: Two childhood best friends reunite as an unlikely crime-fighting superhero duo when one invents a formula that gives ordinary people superpowers.)
I didn’t realize these two actors go way back and are BFFs. Kinda makes me want to watch it more. Let’s call it a likely contender for next Saturday family movie night.
Skip It
Godzilla vs. Kong on HBO Max. This one held promise in the first 1/4 of the movie and then it sorta fell apart from me. The cast was good. I’m always up for Rebecca Hall and Alex Skarsgard (Eric from True Blood) and Bryan Tyree Henry from Atlanta is comedy gold but somewhere between the evil cackle of the gazillionaire corporate villain (Demian Bichir) and watching the movie’s best character (um, Kong, duh!) get shackled so that Apex Corporation, run by Bichir, could take over the world, I lost interest.
Admittedly, I’m not a huge King Kong or Godzilla fan so perhaps this movie wasn’t made for someone like me, but I just found myself scrolling Instagram while the rest of the family watched the last 40 minutes of the movie. In the end, 3 of us emerged from the movie with a “eh” verdict while my son remained steadfast to the ruling that the movie didn’t totally suck. Still, at a running time of nearly 2 hours, you can likely find something better to do on a Saturday night.